70 Attractive Professional Beard Styles: Top Examples

What Are Professional Beard Styles

Professional beard styles are the ones that are acceptable in the workplace. Gone are the days when beards are considered uncouth and unfit for workplace settings.

Men can now sport facial hair in their workplaces, as long as it does not affect their productivity or cause any health risks.

Let’s learn more about some of the most popular professional beard styles you can try out for yourself.

70 Most Popular Styles

Bushy

A traditional bushy beard does look unkempt, but you can also make it look professional. You will need to disconnect the straps from the sideburns by shaving a gap and fading it slightly. After that, trim the rest of the beard into a round and uniform shape.

Faded 

This is a beard style that is popular with black men. The main reason is that their facial hair can be pretty thick and curly. The thickness of their beard hairs lends well to a faded style, with the rest of their beard trimmed evenly. This facial hair style is quite suitable for faux hawks and taper cuts.

Balbo 

This manly and stylish beard works well for men in professional settings. The Balbo constitutes a thick and long mustache paired with a dense beard. This beard goes well with a side-parted or comb-over hairstyle, adding to their professionalism.

When styling this beard, ensure the cheek lines are somewhat clean. It does not need to be crisp but should provide good contrast.

5 O’Clock Shadow

This is one of the easiest to style and maintain facial hair. It got its name because it looks like what a man’s face looks like at the end of the work day. In the old days, this was considered an unclean facial hair style. However, the 5 o’clock shadow is stylish these days if adequately styled.

Stubble

This is similar to the 5 o’clock shadow but a bit longer. You can expect this facial hair to look great with a buzz-cut, crew-cut, or short-cropped haircut.

Ducktail

The ducktail beard is full but shaped to create a point at the bottom. You have to trim the sides of the beard shorter than the chin. For most men, their beards would naturally grow into a ducktail style.

Garibaldi

The Garibaldi beard gained its name from the iconic Italian general and patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi who sported the same facial hair style. The beard and sideburns are pretty long and trimmed evenly.

You also have to keep the mustache slightly thicker. The mustache should be long enough to cover the upper lip.

Lumberjack

The lumberjack beard is the epitome of manliness. This facial hair is no longer just ideal for the deep woods. It can also work well for the conference room.

To achieve the lumberjack facial hairstyle, you should grow your beard and mustache until it is at least 3 to 4 inches. After that, shape the beard into a square and trim the mustache to cover the upper lip.

Van Dyke

The Van Dyke is a goatee and mustache with the cheeks all clean-shaven. This style has always been quite popular, but it hit the mainstream when Robert Downey Jr. sported this iconic look in the Iron Man and Avengers movies.

As exemplified by RDJ, the Van Dyke can look great with a suit if pulled off correctly.

Tapered 

This is a clean-looking style. It will work quite well in any professional setting. It combines a circle-shaped beard, a prominent soul patch, and trimmed cheek hair. The cheek line and neckline are crisp and always look cleanly trimmed.

Boxed

If you want a professional beard style that looks great in either casual or formal settings, you should try the boxed or bandholz beard. What’s great about it is that it can help accentuate your manly features and give your face a more angular look.

The key to this facial hair is keeping the chin lines and neckline neatly trimmed.

Chin Strap

The chin strap had a pretty negative connotation in the past 5 years because, in the 2000s, it was the style of choice of most of the young d-bags of that generation. Thankfully, the times have changed and the public’s opinion on the chin strap did too.

To make this style look classy, keep the width relatively thick, like an inch or so. Also, make sure that it is always trimmed and the edges crisp.

Verdi

This professional beard style got its name from the famous Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. The Verdi came from the mustache and beard he wore later. The true Verdi beard is bushy.

You need to grow it until it is around 3 to 4 inches long, then trim it evenly. After that, style the mustache into a handlebar or have the ends curl up.

Circle 

The circle beard (the non-meme type) is a connected goatee and mustache. It does not necessarily need to be perfectly circular. However, you have to make sure that it encircles the mouth.

Scruffy 

Although this facial hair style looks unkempt, it will still look professional if you pair it up with a neat, close-cropped haircut. You need to let your beard grow out; it will be up to you if you want to trim the edges to make it look neat.

However, the objective is to let the hairs fly away.

Elegant Full Beard

This is just like a full beard, but you have to trim the hair too close to the skin, so it looks neat. The cheek and necklines are also crisp and well-defined. If you are a fan of Star Trek in the Next Generation series, you will find that Commander Riker sports an elegant full beard.

If this is professional-looking enough for the Federation, it should be in the must-have corporate beard styles.

Goatee Without a Mustache

The goatee without a mustache can be described based on what the name suggests. You will need to grow a goatee and keep the rest of the face clean-shaven.

Only Mustache

The look of men with a mustache is now making a comeback. You do not need to have the same striking features as Tom Selleck or Burt Reynolds. The only thing you have to do is to keep your mustache neatly trimmed and combed.

Hoary Gray

This beard style is just a medium stubble trimmed up. However, what makes it look distinguished is the peppering of gray hairs in the beard. You need to be an older gentleman to pull this off.

White With Gray Hair

Again, like the previous entry, you must be an older gentleman to pull this look off. The main reason is that dyeing your hair and beard does not usually look right.

Short Hair and Short Beard

This is any combination of a close-cropped haircut with short facial hair. For instance, it may appear as a crew cut combined with medium or short stubble.

Side Combed With Handlebars

This beard style is the combination that you should go for if you are after the young hipster look. What you have to do is to keep the hair neat using hair products and do the same with the handlebar mustache.

Quiff and Beard

The quiff is a hairstyle that has a lot of height. You can make this hairstyle possible by using hair gels or mousse and then teasing the hair upward. Although this look usually goes with a clean-shaven face, it can also look great with a neat and kept beard.

Undercut With a Beard

The undercut is a hairstyle where the top of the head is significantly longer than the sides. You can pair this hairstyle with facial hair that is not too thick, like a pointed beard or a goatee.

Blonde 

A blonde beard is hard to pull off, depending on how light their hair color is. Sometimes, facial hair is not that visible at all. However, if the facial hair is a bit dark and contrasts nicely with the person’s skin tone, it is highly likely to work.

Manly Look

You can pull off a manly look with a full beard trimmed close to the skin and combed neatly. Pair this with a slicked back or parted hairstyle and you will have the perfect manly look for the professional workplace.

Bald Fade With Beard

Lastly, you can wear the bald fade haircut and pair it up with any beard. This works well in a professional setting. You can pair the bald fade with short facial hair but note that it also goes well with ducktail or lumberjack beards.

If you keep the beard, it will look nice with a bald fade.

How to Grow

Step 1 – Let your facial hair grow

Of course, if you want to let your beard grow, you need to stop shaving for at least a couple of months. Some men can grow a full beard in a month or two, but others take a bit longer. Let your beard grow until it is long enough to style, which is around 2 to 3 inches in length.

Step 2 – Wash and condition

While waiting for your facial hair to grow long enough, you should shampoo and condition it regularly. Strengthen the hair strands sufficiently to prevent them from breaking.

Step 3 – Use Minoxidil

Some people may dispute this, but there are a lot of men who swear upon the effectiveness of minoxidil. Applying minoxidil on the skin every day is said to stimulate the growth of facial hair and prevent patchy facial hair growth.

How to Style

Step 1 – Trim to a uniform length

Once your facial hair has grown long enough, use hair clippers to cut the hair to a uniform length. This will eliminate the split ends and get the hair to an equal length. Also, look for tips on blow drying your beard to prevent accidental hair damage.

Step 2 – Trim the cheek and neckline

To give your beard some shape, trim the cheeks and neckline. This will provide good contrast between the skin and facial hair. You can start using hair clippers and finish using a razor to clean the edges.

Step 3 – Style the way you want 

Choose from the many different styles that your beard length can handle and begin styling. Use a beard pomade if you want every strand to stay in place.

However, if you are not confident with your styling skills, you can ask your regular barber to do it. While you are there, get a haircut as well.

How to Trim and Maintain

Step 1 – Wash regularly

Just like the hair on your head, you will need to wash and condition your beard. However, just like what you do to your hair, you should not shampoo it daily but every couple of days. This is one of the best ways to deal with beard dandruff.

Step 2 – Trim using hair clippers

If you want to keep your facial hair relatively long, attach the biggest clipper guard. This will trim all your facial hair to an equal length.

Step 3 – Maintain the cheek lines and neckline

Use a safety or straight razor to eliminate any stubbles that grow in the shaved areas. Here is one of the pro tips on beard shaping. If you are afraid of using straight razors and your hands are not steady enough to use a safety razor effectively, use a clipper without a guard.

Step 4 – Use styling and maintenance products

Washing and conditioning are not enough to keep your facial hair looking exquisite. You should also know how to soften a beard using the right products, like expert-reviewed beard oils.

FAQ

Can a beard be professional?

Yes. A beard can fit in with any professional setting as long as you style it neatly. If your beard does not make you look derelict, there is no reason why you should not have a beard at work. Use a beard brush to tame the strands and make your facial hair shiny.

What is the ideal length for a professional beard?

If your beard does not get in the way of your job, you have every right to grow it as long as you want. However, you should do your best to at least look presentable.

Does having a beard affect me in getting a job?

Legally, having a beard should not have any bearing on whether you get a job or not. Companies should not discriminate against any applicant depending on how he looks.

However, if you have a beard and you are scheduled for a job interview, you should at least put some effort into looking presentable. This includes using premium beard grooming kits.

Does my beard have to be all one length?

No, there are many styles where the lengths of the facial hair are not the same. For instance, the ducktail beard and the lumberjack beard require the hair on your cheeks to be shorter than the ones hanging off your chin.

Can you be forced to shave your beard?

It depends on the nature of your job. For instance, if you work in the food service industry, you will need to wear a beard net if you are not keen on shaving. On the other hand, if your facial hair can get in the way of your work, you will be forced to shave.

This is the case with firefighters. Having a long beard will prevent respirators from making a complete seal around your face. Firefighters usually wear respirators when putting out fires and conducting rescues inside burning buildings.